Both patents are fairly specific about what Google considers spamming, and the timing is quickly mentioned.

However, the wording leaves it somewhat open-ended which I believe could be used for most changes for SEO as well as the timing.

What Appears to Be Random Isn’t Actually Random

Computers and programs can’t function in a random way.

Therefore, the ranking documents patent contains 29 claims detailing a set of rules in which the pages (or documents) that are affected by the patent are set up in a way that rankings appear to be random during the established transition period.

The patent’s abstract describes:

“A system determines a first rank associated with a document and determines a second rank associated with the document, where the second rank is different from the first rank. The system also changes, during a transition period that occurs during a transition from the first rank to the second rank, a transition rank associated with the document based on a rank transition function that varies the transition rank over time without any change in ranking factors associated with the document.”

Upon a change to a set of pages on a website, the new ranking position is determined.

However, it is not set for an amount of time. Instead, each page is assigned a position based on the algorithms defined in the patent.

The positions will appear to be random until that determined amount of time is complete and no further work or adjustments to those pages were made.

Keyword stuffing: Repeatedly using a keyword within a page to make the page appear to be more relevant to the keyword being searched.

Invisible text: Including a set of words on a page in which the text is the same color as the background.

Tiny text: Using keywords in small text within a page in an attempt to make a page appear relevant for a wide range of search queries, even though the page may not be relevant.

Page redirects: Using a first paragraph of code to automatically redirect the user to a second page that has nothing to do with the search query (typically a browser side JavaScript redirect rather than a server side redirect 301, 302 or similar which is safe).

Meta tags stuffing: Using a large set of keywords in the meta tags in which the keywords do not relate to the content on the page.

Link-based manipulation: This may include the creation or manipulation of a first document or a set of first documents to include a link, or several links, to a second document attempting to increase rankings for the second document.

While these spamming techniques are mentioned in the document, many more could be included that trigger rank transition – even just simply making changes to a specific set of pages.

How Long Does This Ranking Transition Last?

The patent mentions:

“After a period of time, the document’s rank might rise to its new steady state (target) value. Like FIG. 6, the time line shown in FIG. 7 may be represented in days in one implementation consistent with the principles of the invention. In other words, the document’s rank may decrease for a period of approximately 20 days before settling in on its new steady state (target) value (e.g., 1.0 in FIG. 7) in approximately 70 days after a positive change in its link-based information.”

When the patent was approved in August 2012, Google was pushing Panda updates and refreshes and my team launched a major project that cleaned up many issues.

Three months (to the day) after launching the updates we saw a significant increase in traffic and improvements in rankings for the series of pages.

Ranking transition is triggered when changes are made to a set of pages on a website.

Those pages begin with a first rank for the page (or document) with a second rank then set.

During the transition period, a transition rank is set based on the rank transition function that varies the transition rank over time without any change in the first or second ranking factors for the page.

This year, I worked with a property management company. I helped redesign and optimize their website.

The site was completely overhauled. The roughly 100 URLs and content stayed the same with a design refresh after completing an SEO audit and market research.

The site added 500+ new pages of content optimized following today’s best SEO practices.

Using the Keylime Toolbox tool, I monitored the rankings in Google over time from Day 0 (before launch) to Day 90, and 10 days past.

At Day 90 the site saw a stable average ranking position and seemed to hold with minimal fluctuation. The 90 days appears to be the transition rank with a few volatile bumps.

Average Position over 100 Days Post Changes

Summary

The massive efforts in 2011 and 2012 to fight spamming has left us SEO professionals often wondering what is going on with our results.

Never fear, though.

It could be that your changes are in the ranking transition period and simply waiting to show their permanent place.

I have often sent the articles written about the patent, and even sent the link to the patent itself, to help make my case to clients and bosses that we simply need to wait it out and see how we did in a few months.